Learning to Be Strong
by WritingMind
Summary: A few weeks after Olivia is saved from a brutal kidnapping, she needs to open up to someone. EO? Heck, yes! One shot. Please read and review! : Disclaimer: I don't own the characters.


_Author's Note: I myself am not an EO shipper but if you are I'm sure you'll love this story. A bit of background, this story isn't written after any specific episode. Just imagine that about a week or two prior to the story Olivia was kidnapped and you'll be fine. Enjoy! :)_

Olivia slammed the door to Cragen's office behind her. It was empty. She had known it would be. It seemed like the safest place at the moment. A few seconds later Elliot slipped in behind her and shut the door quietly. The two had just had a fight about their latest case. He could tell something had been up for the past few days and even before that everyone had been walking on eggshells since she returned to work after the kidnapping. He didn't want to have to be the first one to talk but it seemed like she would stand there silent and fuming with her back to him forever if he didn't say something.

"Liv, what's going on with you?" he asked softly.

Her voice was stuck in her throat. She was trying to hold back tears but a few made it out of her eyes despite her concentration. She tried again to speak but nothing came out.

"Liv, I need to know what's happening to you," he said. His voice sounded tortured and she couldn't bring herself to turn back and look at him. After a few more moments, she turned around, her head down, her eyes focused on the ground.

"I don't know," she said quietly, her voice cracking. "I thought everything would be okay. I thought I could handle this," she said, shaking her head. "I'm falling apart and I see it happening and I can't do anything about it."

Elliot didn't know what to say. He knew nothing would make her feel better. "Maybe you need to take a break." He walked over to her and wrapped her in his arms, rubbing her back, trying to calm her down. He couldn't take seeing her like this.

"I was always so independent; I thought I could get along with just me, myself, and I," she said quietly. She was lost in thought. Elliot thought better than to interrupt her.

"And then I came to here. New York City, sixteenth precinct: sex crimes. My world got turned upside down. I realized how nice it was having somebody care about you. Somebody you got up to see every day. Coming here was like coming home. I finally had a family. There were times when I thought maybe I just wasn't meant to have people as great as you guys, when I thought that a good thing could only last for so long. So I left and I hoped that I would be taking happiness away from myself rather than having someone else yank it away." Elliot was still rubbing her back. His shirt was soaked through with salty tears but he didn't mind. Olivia had been holding everything inside for too long and he wanted to be there for her when she finally needed to let someone in.

He hadn't realized it but he was crying now too. He had never considered how the job could be affecting her. She had always been the one fussing over how it was affecting him. He was so angry at himself for never doing the same for her.

"And I worked with the computers for a while, alone, no partner. I realized I couldn't take being away from you guys so I came back. But things had changed; they were so different. Dani had gotten to you and you were mad at me for leaving. Everyone else was happy to see me, but the person I needed to care most didn't seem to give a shit." Elliot instantly hated himself for giving her the cold shoulder.

"But things got back to normal. And then a few weeks ago, exactly what I feared was happening. I was taken from you guys and I was so sure he was going to kill me. So sure. I thought I would never see any of you again. That scared the hell out of me. I was probably more scared of that than of the man holding me hostage. And now I'm back here but nothing feels the same, Elliot. Nothing feels the same."

She was finished. He was scared out of his mind from the way she was talking. He had always leaned on her for support and she had given it to him. Now he was trying to be her rock and he knew he was failing. She continued to cry into his shoulder and he now noticed the tears that had been dripping down his own face. She finally pulled back. He wiped his eyes but they were again filled with translucent liquid in seconds. She seemed to be turning back to the normal her. They stayed there for a while in silence.

"Liv, you were always the strong one," Elliot said, breaking the silence, looking at her with wet eyes.

"El, sometimes I need someone to be strong for me," she replied. She didn't look up. She couldn't. The idea of him crying because of her was heartbreaking to her and she couldn't take it.

"I know," he said almost silently. She nodded and tried to look up at him. She managed a small, grateful smile. She was happy she had finally told someone how she felt. She hated hurting El like she had but she would have ended up quitting special victims unit if she hadn't.

She walked out first. Elliot stood there for a few more minutes. Then he exited the room after her, vowing to try and make things the way they had been before she had been stolen from them.

_Author's Note: If you'd like to see more, perhaps a sequal or something from Elliot's point of view on the subject of Olivia's kidnapping just let me know. Please read and review guys! Your reviews mean the world to me._


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